It's possible that these guys will grow up to be accountants or engineers. Or they could be the next Al and Ron Lindner.

It'll be the latter if either of the Sommerhausers has anything to say about it.

Aided by a worklight, Hunter Sommerhauser, 16, ties a bucktail jig in the basement of his St. Paul, Minn., home Thursday Jan. 2, 2014. The basement also serves as the headquarters of HG Bait Co., which Hunter and his brother Grant, 14, founded last year.
(Pioneer Press Dave Orrick)

"Just for the record, what do you guys want to be when you grow up?" I asked as the duo was drilling holes and jigging furiously on Lake Owasso in subzero temperatures Wednesday. (What else would a pair of fishing-fanatic kids be doing on New Year's Day?)

"Fishing," Grant replied without glancing up from his hole. "Something fishing."

"Fishing, like a fishing guide," Hunter echoed, also without giving it a second thought, or a glance from his flasher.

Oh, to be that age again. To hop on your bike after school or after your summer job and work your way along the riverbanks, discovering a new spot where the action is so good you gotta tell the world about it.

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Even if we date ourselves to the era of Betamax, didn't we all -- at least those of us who read these pages -- host our own fishing shows, if only in our minds? Maybe you played Jimmy Houston and your pal played Bill Dance, whether there was a video camera at hand or not. "Folks," every address to the imagined audience began, while every release of a fish would conclude with some variation of "That's how it's done!"

And so it is with the more than 50 video productions of RipSomeLipsHG (youtube.com/RipSomeLipsHG), where the pair pull walleye from beneath the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River and crappies from near-shore eddies in St. Paul. Grant signs off every broadcast with "Well, folks, thanks for watching Rip Some Lips HG." (And yes, a hint of southern drawl creeps into his voice, per the genre.)

Kids today -- especially the likes of the Brothers Sommerhauser -- don't just pretend like their VHS forefathers; they put the shows online for the world to see.

It's a trend that tackle companies have noted.

"The younger generation is really tuned into social media and the technical aspects of fishing and video production," said Ben Rand, marketing manager for ice-fishing-gear specialist Frabill and tackle-box manufacturer Plano. "The expectation of consumers today is to have real-time information in their hands. The younger generation with their YouTube channels and Facebook, they do that. You have that product released that morning and the information is up there that night. It's a real positive for us."

Rand was among a gang of professional anglers and marketers manning the Frabill station at the St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show last month when the Sommerhausers showed up to hobnob with their TV angling idols and gin up support for something called HG Bait Co.

Turns out, they already were known. Wisconsin guide Eric Haataja was familiar with their lures, and the brothers could point to a pair of bait shops that carry their custom-made jigs and plastic worms.

"It was just so much fun when these guys stopped in the booth, to see the passion in their eyes," said Steve Pennaz, longtime fishing personality and president of Everfire Group, which produces "Lake Commandos," "When I was that age, I had a rod between my handlebars and was traveling down the Mississippi and fishing, but I never thought about starting a business. I just think it's phenomenal."

More or less on the spot, Frabill officials anointed the Sommerhausers to their "pro staff," which affords them discounted or free products as ambassadors of the company. The company is fully aware that the products likely will benefit from the types of online endorsements and reviews the brothers will produce, Rand said.

Matt Wiseman, owner of Matt's Lucky Bait in Lakeland, one of two shops that carry HG's products, has been smitten, as well.

"The Sommerhauser brothers? Those kids are awesome," Wiseman said. "Keep an eye on them." (Fish Lake Bait Shop in Harris, Minn., also sells HG lures, and they can be purchased through the brothers' website www.hgbaitco.com.)

I visited the world headquarters of HG Bait Co., located through a trap door in the basement of a modest cottage in St. Paul's West Seventh neighborhood -- a quick pedal from the Mississippi. It smells of plastic (melted in a microwave) and paint (dried in a toaster oven).

Nearly a year ago, the Sommerhauser brothers, with the blessings -- but no financial infusion -- from their parents, Richard and Andrea, founded the company. They were inspired after stumbling across another teen lure maker promoting himself on YouTube.

"They wanted to do it, and we said 'Sure,' " Andrea Sommerhauser said. "It's amazing how far they've taken it. But I can't say we were surprised. They did really commit to the lemonade stand."

Ah, yes, the lemonade stand.

Two summers ago, the brothers set up a lemonade stand at the corner of St. Clair Avenue and Oneida Street with the hopes of raising enough cash to buy a boat.

"I didn't think they'd really be able to do it," their mother said. "But then the first day, they came home with $80."

"We made $950 in a week and a half," Grant stated flatly. "We put in 8-hour days, so it didn't take too long."

To said used craft they affixed a 1950s era 3-horsepower motor handed down from their great-great-grandfather. The pair is planning to upgrade the boat and motor this year, although they still need to research boating restrictions based on age and the motor's power. (And Hunter needs to secure a full driver's license.)

Oh, to be that age again -- but with a business plan in hand.

"We don't have to pay any bills now, so everything can go into the business," Hunter explained. Grant completed the thought: "We'll build it up until we're 18, so we've got some money in it, and we'll incorporate as an LLC. Then the business will keep going while we're in college."

As for their lures, they specialize in bucktail jigs from one-sixteenth ounce to a half-ounce with glitter paint that holds to the jighead. In an impromptu product demo, Hunter throws a jig with boyish abandon on the concrete floor, while Grant pounds on another with a pair of pliers. I can't tell if this is a practiced pitch or just fun.

Indeed, the jigheads dent, but the glitter holds fast.

"Only a few guys can make glitter jigs so it won't chip off," Grant said. "We're one of like three in the country." It's a claim this journalist did not attempt to verify or refute. Nor will I. These guys are on a roll.

But can they fish?

We met up midday on Lake Owasso, which straddles the border between Roseville and Shoreview. They said they never had fished the lake. Mom and dad -- avid anglers -- casually worked a hole or two, with an emphasis on keeping their hands warm.

The boys drilled, jigged and moved. At one point, Hunter fired up a portable heater so he could fish bare-handed with one hand while warming the other.

Oh, to be that age again.

Within 20 minutes, both kids were pulling respectable-sized crappies from their holes. Impressive.

Amid talk of what their Vexilar depth finders were telling them, they spoke excitedly about their newfound status with Frabill, discussing which gear they'd like to test.

But with success come responsibility.

At one point, they fretted about non-Frabill equipment that might appear in the photos I was taking, and whether that was allowed.

Grant Sommerhauser, 14, left and Hunter Sommerhauser, 16, of St. Paul, Minn., prepare to land a crappie hooked by Hunter while ice
fishing Ramsey County's Lake Owasso Wednesday Jan. 1, 2014.
The brothers founded HG Bait Co. and have garnered attention from professional anglers and national gear manufacturers.
(Pioneer Press Dave Orrick)